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Single-Visit Photometric and Obscurational CompletenessWe report a method that uses ``completeness'' to estimate the number ofextrasolar planets discovered by an observing program with adirect-imaging instrument. We develop a completeness function forEarth-like planets on ``habitable'' orbits for an instrument with acentral field obscuration, uniform sensitivity in an annular detectionzone, and limiting sensitivity that is expressed as a ``deltamagnitude'' with respect to the star, determined by systematic effects(given adequate exposure time). We demonstrate our method of estimationby applying it to our understanding of the coronagraphic version of theTerrestrial Planet Finder (TPF-C) mission as of 2004 October. Weestablish an initial relationship between the size, quality, andstability of the instrument's optics and its ability to meet missionscience requirements. We provide options for increasing the fidelity andversatility of the models on which our method is based, and we discusshow the method could be extended to model the TPF-C mission as a wholeto verify that its design can meet the science requirements.

Sulphur abundance in Galactic starsWe investigate sulphur abundance in 74 Galactic stars by using highresolution spectra obtained at ESO VLT and NTT telescopes. For the firsttime the abundances are derived, where possible, from three opticalmultiplets: Mult. 1, 6, and 8. By combining our own measurements withdata in the literature we assemble a sample of 253 stars in themetallicity range -3.2  [Fe/H]  +0.5. Two important features,which could hardly be detected in smaller samples, are obvious from thislarge sample: 1) a sizeable scatter in [S/Fe] ratios around [Fe/H]-1; 2) at low metallicities we observe stars with [S/Fe] 0.4, aswell as stars with higher [S/Fe] ratios. The latter do not seem to bekinematically different from the former ones. Whether the latter findingstems from a distinct population of metal-poor stars or simply from anincreased scatter in sulphur abundances remains an open question.

Lithium abundances of the local thin disc starsLithium abundances are presented for a sample of 181 nearby F and Gdwarfs with accurate Hipparcos parallaxes. The stars are on circularorbits about the Galactic centre and, hence, are identified as belongingto the thin disc. This sample is combined with two published surveys toprovide a catalogue of lithium abundances, metallicities ([Fe/H]),masses, and ages for 451 F-G dwarfs, almost all belonging to the thindisc. The lithium abundances are compared and contrasted with publishedlithium abundances for F and G stars in local open clusters. The fieldstars span a larger range in [Fe/H] than the clusters for which [Fe/H]~=0.0 +/- 0.2. The initial (i.e. interstellar) lithium abundance of thesolar neighbourhood, as derived from stars for which astration oflithium is believed to be unimportant, is traced from logɛ(Li) =2.2 at [Fe/H]=-1 to logɛ(Li) = 3.2 at +0.1. This form for theevolution is dependent on the assumption that astration of lithium isnegligible for the stars defining the relation. An argument is advancedthat this latter assumption may not be entirely correct, and, theevolution of lithium with [Fe/H] may be flatter than previouslysupposed. A sharp Hyades-like Li dip is not seen among the field starsand appears to be replaced by a large spread among lithium abundances ofstars more massive than the lower mass limit of the dip. Astration oflithium by stars of masses too low to participate in the Li dip isdiscussed. These stars show little to no spread in lithium abundance ata given [Fe/H] and mass.

Stellar Chemical Signatures and Hierarchical Galaxy FormationTo compare the chemistries of stars in the Milky Way dwarf spheroidal(dSph) satellite galaxies with stars in the Galaxy, we have compiled alarge sample of Galactic stellar abundances from the literature. Whenkinematic information is available, we have assigned the stars tostandard Galactic components through Bayesian classification based onGaussian velocity ellipsoids. As found in previous studies, the[α/Fe] ratios of most stars in the dSph galaxies are generallylower than similar metallicity Galactic stars in this extended sample.Our kinematically selected stars confirm this for the Galactic halo,thin-disk, and thick-disk components. There is marginal overlap in thelow [α/Fe] ratios between dSph stars and Galactic halo stars onextreme retrograde orbits (V=-1.8), contributions from the s-process are expected; [(Y,La, and Ba)/Eu] all rise as expected, and yet [Ba/Y] is still muchhigher in the dSph stars than similar metallicity Galactic stars. Thisresult is consistent with s-process contributions from lower metallicityAGB stars in dSph galaxies, and is in good agreement with the slowerchemical evolution expected in the low-mass dSph galaxies relative tothe Galaxy, such that the build-up of metals occurs over much longertimescales. Future investigations of nucleosynthetic constraints (aswell as galaxy formation and evolution) will require an examination ofmany stars within individual dwarf galaxies.Finally, the Na-Ni trend reported in 1997 by Nissen & Schuster isconfirmed in Galactic halo stars, but we discuss this in terms of thegeneral nucleosynthesis of neutron-rich elements. We do not confirm thatthe Na-Ni trend is related to the accretion of dSph galaxies in theGalactic halo.

The Geneva-Copenhagen survey of the Solar neighbourhood. Ages, metallicities, and kinematic properties of 14 000 F and G dwarfsWe present and discuss new determinations of metallicity, rotation, age,kinematics, and Galactic orbits for a complete, magnitude-limited, andkinematically unbiased sample of 16 682 nearby F and G dwarf stars. Our63 000 new, accurate radial-velocity observations for nearly 13 500stars allow identification of most of the binary stars in the sampleand, together with published uvbyβ photometry, Hipparcosparallaxes, Tycho-2 proper motions, and a few earlier radial velocities,complete the kinematic information for 14 139 stars. These high-qualityvelocity data are supplemented by effective temperatures andmetallicities newly derived from recent and/or revised calibrations. Theremaining stars either lack Hipparcos data or have fast rotation. Amajor effort has been devoted to the determination of new isochrone agesfor all stars for which this is possible. Particular attention has beengiven to a realistic treatment of statistical biases and errorestimates, as standard techniques tend to underestimate these effectsand introduce spurious features in the age distributions. Our ages agreewell with those by Edvardsson et al. (\cite{edv93}), despite severalastrophysical and computational improvements since then. We demonstrate,however, how strong observational and theoretical biases cause thedistribution of the observed ages to be very different from that of thetrue age distribution of the sample. Among the many basic relations ofthe Galactic disk that can be reinvestigated from the data presentedhere, we revisit the metallicity distribution of the G dwarfs and theage-metallicity, age-velocity, and metallicity-velocity relations of theSolar neighbourhood. Our first results confirm the lack of metal-poor Gdwarfs relative to closed-box model predictions (the ``G dwarfproblem''), the existence of radial metallicity gradients in the disk,the small change in mean metallicity of the thin disk since itsformation and the substantial scatter in metallicity at all ages, andthe continuing kinematic heating of the thin disk with an efficiencyconsistent with that expected for a combination of spiral arms and giantmolecular clouds. Distinct features in the distribution of the Vcomponent of the space motion are extended in age and metallicity,corresponding to the effects of stochastic spiral waves rather thanclassical moving groups, and may complicate the identification ofthick-disk stars from kinematic criteria. More advanced analyses of thisrich material will require careful simulations of the selection criteriafor the sample and the distribution of observational errors.Based on observations made with the Danish 1.5-m telescope at ESO, LaSilla, Chile, and with the Swiss 1-m telescope at Observatoire deHaute-Provence, France.Complete Tables 1 and 2 are only available in electronic form at the CDSvia anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/418/989

Improved Astrometry and Photometry for the Luyten Catalog. II. Faint Stars and the Revised CatalogWe complete construction of a catalog containing improved astrometry andnew optical/infrared photometry for the vast majority of NLTT starslying in the overlap of regions covered by POSS I and by the secondincremental Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) release, approximately 44%of the sky. The epoch 2000 positions are typically accurate to 130 mas,the proper motions to 5.5 mas yr-1, and the V-J colors to0.25 mag. Relative proper motions of binary components are measured to 3mas yr-1. The false-identification rate is ~1% for11-33deg. Our catalogwill therefore provide a powerful tool to probe these populationsstatistically, as well as to reliably identify individual SDs and WDs.

Statistical cataloging of archival data for luminosity class IV-V stars. II. The epoch 2001 [Fe/H] catalogThis paper describes the derivation of an updated statistical catalog ofmetallicities. The stars for which those metallicities apply are ofspectral types F, G, and K, and are on or near the main sequence. Theinput data for the catalog are values of [Fe/H] published before 2002February and derived from lines of weak and moderate strength. Theanalyses used to derive the data have been based on one-dimensional LTEmodel atmospheres. Initial adjustments which are applied to the datainclude corrections to a uniform temperature scale which is given in acompanion paper (see Taylor \cite{t02}). After correction, the data aresubjected to a statistical analysis. For each of 941 stars considered,the results of that analysis include a mean value of [Fe/H], an rmserror, an associated number of degrees of freedom, and one or moreidentification numbers for source papers. The catalog of these resultssupersedes an earlier version given by Taylor (\cite{t94b}).Catalog is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/398/731

Statistical cataloging of archival data for luminosity class IV-V stars. I. The epoch 2001 temperature catalogThis paper is one of a pair in which temperatures and metallicitycatalogs for class IV-V stars are considered. The temperature catalogdescribed here is derived from a calibration based on stellar angulardiameters. If published calibrations of this kind are compared by usingcolor-index transformations, temperature-dependent differences among thecalibrations are commonly found. However, such differences are minimizedif attention is restricted to calibrations based on Johnson V-K. Acalibration of this sort from Di Benedetto (\cite{dib98}) is thereforetested and adopted. That calibration is then applied to spectroscopicand photometric data, with the latter predominating. Cousins R-Iphotometry receives special attention because of its high precision andlow metallicity sensitivity. Testing of temperatures derived from thecalibration suggests that their accuracy and precision are satisfactory,though further testing will be warranted as new results appear. Thesetemperatures appear in the catalog as values of theta equiv5040/T(effective). Most of these entries are accompanied by measured orderived values of Cousins R-I. Entries are given for 951 stars.Catalog is only available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymousftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/398/721

Rotation and differential rotation in field F- and G-type starsWe present a detailed study of rotation and differential rotationanalyzing high resolution high S/N spectra of 142 F-, G- and earlyK-type field stars. Using Least Squares Deconvolution we obtainbroadening profiles for our sample stars and use the Fourier transformmethod to determine projected rotational velocities v sin i.Distributions of rotational velocities and periods are studied in theHR-diagram. For a subsample of 32 stars of spectral type F0-G0 we derivethe amount of differential rotation in terms of alpha = (Omega_Equator- Omega_Pole )/Omega_Equator . We find evidence for differentialrotation in ten of the 32 stars. Differential rotation seems to be morecommon in slower rotators, but deviations from rigid rotation are alsofound in some fast rotators. We search for correlations betweendifferential rotation and parameters relevant for stellar activity andshow indications against strong differential rotation in very activestars. We derive values of Delta P and Delta Omega , which support aperiod dependence of differential rotation. Derived lap times 2pi /DeltaOmega are of the order of 20 d and contradict the assumption thatconstant lap times of the order of the solar one ( ~ 130 d) are therule in stars that are thought to harbour magnetic dynamos.Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, LaSilla.Tables 3 and A1 are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.125.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/398/647

Sulphur abundances in disk stars: A correlation with siliconWe have performed new determinations of sulphur and silicon abundancesfor a sample of 26 disk stars based on high-resolution, highsignal-to-noise spectra. The results indicate a solar [S/Fe] for [Fe/H]>-0.3, below which [S/Fe] increases to ~ 0.25 dex at [Fe/H] =-1.0. Wefind that there is a good correlation between [S/H] and [Si/H],indicating the same nucleosynthetic origin of the two elements. It seemsthat the ratio of sulphur to silicon does not depend on metallicity for[Fe/H] > -1.0. The implications of these results on models for thenucleosynthesis of alpha -capture elements and the chemical evolution ofthe Galaxy are discussed. Based on observations carried out at NationalAstronomical Observatories (Xinglong, PR China).

A search for previously unrecognized metal-poor subdwarfs in the Hipparcos astrometric catalogueWe have identified 317 stars included in the Hipparcos astrometriccatalogue that have parallaxes measured to a precision of better than 15per cent, and the location of which in the(MV,(B-V)T) diagram implies a metallicitycomparable to or less than that of the intermediate-abundance globularcluster M5. We have undertaken an extensive literature search to locateStrömgren, Johnson/Cousins and Walraven photometry for over 120stars. In addition, we present new UBV(RI)C photometry of 201of these candidate halo stars, together with similar data for a further14 known metal-poor subdwarfs. These observations provide the firstextensive data set of RCIC photometry ofmetal-poor, main-sequence stars with well-determined trigonometricparallaxes. Finally, we have obtained intermediate-resolution opticalspectroscopy of 175 stars. 47 stars still lack sufficient supplementaryobservations for population classification; however, we are able toestimate abundances for 270 stars, or over 80 per cent of the sample.The overwhelming majority have near-solar abundance, with theirinclusion in the present sample stemming from errors in the colourslisted in the Hipparcos catalogue. Only 44 stars show consistentevidence of abundances below [Fe/H]=-1.0. Nine are additions to thesmall sample of metal-poor subdwarfs with accurate photometry. Weconsider briefly the implication of these results for clustermain-sequence fitting.

Sulphur Abundance in Very Metal-poor StarsWe have obtained high-resolution high signal-to-noise ratio spectra ofthe S I near-infrared doublet at 8694 Å in eight metal-poor starswith metallicities in the range -0.6<=[Fe/H]<=-3.0. Elementalsulphur abundances were derived for six targets, and upper limits wereset for two of the most metal-poor stars in the sample. The sulphurdoublet at 8694.62 Å has been detected in three stars (HD 19445,HD 2665, and HD 2796) with [Fe/H]<=-1.9. Our observations, combinedwith those available in the literature, indicate a monotonic increase ofthe [S/Fe] ratio as [Fe/H] decreases, reaching values of [S/Fe]~0.7-0.8below [Fe/H]=-2. We discuss plausible scenarios for the interpretationof these results. Based on observations obtained with the WilliamHerschel Telescope (WHT), operated on the island of La Palma by theIsaac Newton Group in the Spanish Observatorio del Roque de losMuchachos (ORM) of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias.

Catalogue of Apparent Diameters and Absolute Radii of Stars (CADARS) - Third edition - Comments and statisticsThe Catalogue, available at the Centre de Données Stellaires deStrasbourg, consists of 13 573 records concerning the results obtainedfrom different methods for 7778 stars, reported in the literature. Thefollowing data are listed for each star: identifications, apparentmagnitude, spectral type, apparent diameter in arcsec, absolute radiusin solar units, method of determination, reference, remarks. Commentsand statistics obtained from CADARS are given. The Catalogue isavailable in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp tocdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcar?J/A+A/367/521

Abundances of light elements in metal-poor stars. III. Data analysis and resultsWe present the results of the analysis of an extensive set of new andliterature high quality data concerning Fe, C, N, O, Na, and Mg. Thisanalysis exploited the T_eff scale determined in Gratton et al. (1996a),and the non-LTE abundance corrections computed in Gratton et al.(1999a). Results obtained with various abundance indices are discussedand compared. Detailed comparison with models of galactic chemicalevolution will be presented in future papers of this series. Our non-LTEanalysis yields the same O abundances from both permitted and forbiddenlines for stars with T_eff >4600 K, in agreement with King (1993),but not with other studies using a lower T_eff -scale for subdwarfs.However, we obtain slightly smaller O abundances for the most luminousmetal-poor field stars than for fainter stars of similar metallicities,an effect attributed to inadequacies of the adopted model atmospheres(Kurucz 1992, with overshooting) for cool stars. We find a nearlyconstant O overundance in metal-poor stars ([Fe/H]

A Consistency Test of Spectroscopic Gravities for Late-Type StarsChemical analyses of late-type stars are usually carried out followingthe classical recipe: LTE line formation and homogeneous,plane-parallel, flux-constant, and LTE model atmospheres. We reviewdifferent results in the literature that have suggested significantinconsistencies in the spectroscopic analyses, pointing out thedifficulties in deriving independent estimates of the stellarfundamental parameters and hence, detecting systematic errors. Thetrigonometric parallaxes measured by the Hipparcos mission provideaccurate appraisals of the stellar surface gravity for nearby stars,which are used here to check the gravities obtained from thephotospheric iron ionization balance. We find an approximate agreementfor stars in the metallicity range -1.0<=[Fe/H]<=0, but thecomparison shows that the differences between the spectroscopic andtrigonometric gravities decrease toward lower metallicities for moremetal-deficient dwarfs (-2.5<=[Fe/H]<=-1.0), which casts a shadowupon the abundance analyses for extreme metal-poor stars that make useof the ionization equilibrium to constrain the gravity. The comparisonwith the strong-line gravities derived by Edvardsson and Fuhrmannconfirms that this method provide systematically larger gravities thanthe ionization balance. The strong-line gravities get closer to thephysical ones for the stars analyzed by Fuhrmann, but they are evenfurther away than the iron ionization gravities for the stars of lowergravities in Edvardsson's sample. The confrontation of the deviations ofthe iron ionization gravities in metal-poor stars, reported here withdepartures from the excitation balance found in the literature, showthat they are likely to be induced by the same physical mechanism.

A Model for Calculating the Abundances of Neutron-Capture Elements in Metal-poor StarsSeveral previous studies on the abundances of neutron-capture elementshave indicated that, for most metal-poor stars, the observed abundancesof the heavy elements cannot be matched by only one neutron-captureprocess, either the solar system r-process or the solar s-processabundances. However, the observed abundances can be well matched by thecombined contributions from both of these solar system neutron-captureprocesses in certain proportions. So it is necessary to determine therelative contributions from the individual neutron-capture processes tothe abundances of the heavy elements in metal-poor stars. In this paperwe suggest a new concept of component coefficients to describe therelative contributions of the individual n-processes to the synthesis ofthe heavy elements and we set up a model to calculate the componentcoefficients and the abundances of heavy elements in metal-poor starswith different metallicities. With this model, we then calculate thecomponent coefficients and the abundances of the heavy elements in 18metal-poor stars. We find that, for most sample stars, the modelcalculations are basically in agreement with the observations of theheavy elemental abundances within the error limits and the fits of themodel predictions are much better for the heaviest elements than for thelighter elements, specifically for Sr, Y, and Zr. We discuss this resultand give a possible explanation for it. Moreover, we also discuss thephysical meanings of the component coefficients.

Determination of the temperatures of selected ISO flux calibration stars using the Infrared Flux MethodEffective temperatures for 420 stars with spectral types between A0 andK3, and luminosity classes between II and V, selected for a fluxcalibration of the Infrared Space Observatory, ISO, have been determinedusing the Infrared Flux Method (IRFM). The determinations are based onnarrow and wide band photometric data obtained for this purpose, andtake into account previously published narrow-band measures oftemperature. Regression coefficients are given for relations between thedetermined temperatures and the photometric parameters (B2-V1), (b-y)and (B-V), corrected for interstellar extinction through use ofHipparcos parallaxes. A correction for the effect of metallicity on thedetermination of integrated flux is proposed. The importance of aknowledge of metallicity in the representation of derived temperaturesfor Class V, IV and III stars by empirical functions is discussed andformulae given. An estimate is given for the probable error of eachtemperature determination. Based on data from the ESA HipparcosAstrometry Satellite.

A catalogue of [Fe/H] determinations: 1996 editionA fifth Edition of the Catalogue of [Fe/H] determinations is presentedherewith. It contains 5946 determinations for 3247 stars, including 751stars in 84 associations, clusters or galaxies. The literature iscomplete up to December 1995. The 700 bibliographical referencescorrespond to [Fe/H] determinations obtained from high resolutionspectroscopic observations and detailed analyses, most of them carriedout with the help of model-atmospheres. The Catalogue is made up ofthree formatted files: File 1: field stars, File 2: stars in galacticassociations and clusters, and stars in SMC, LMC, M33, File 3: numberedlist of bibliographical references The three files are only available inelectronic form at the Centre de Donnees Stellaires in Strasbourg, viaanonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5), or viahttp://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/Abstract.html

Abundances of light elements in metal-poor stars. I. Atmospheric parameters and a new T_eff_ scaleWe present atmospheric parameters for about 300 stars of differentchemical composition, whose spectra will be used to study the galacticenrichment of Fe and light elements. These parameters were derived usingan homogeneous iterative procedure, which considers new calibrations ofcolour-T_eff_ relations for F, G and K-type stars based on Infrared FluxMethod (IRFM) and interferometric diameters for population I stars, andthe Kurucz (1992) model atmospheres. We found that these calibrationsyield a self-consistent set of atmospheric parameters forT_eff_>4400K, representing a clear improvement over results obtainedwith older model atmospheres. Using this T_eff_ -scale and Feequilibrium of ionization, we obtained very low gravities (implyingluminosities incompatible with that expected for RGB stars) formetal-poor stars cooler than 4400K; this might be due either to amoderate Fe overionization (expected from statistical equilibriumcalculations) or to inadequacy of Kurucz models to describe theatmospheres of very cool giants. Our T_eff_ scale is compared with otherscales recently used for metal-poor stars; it agrees well with thoseobtained using Kurucz (1992) models, but it gives much larger T_eff_'sthan those obtained using OSMARCS models (Edvardsson et al. 1993). Thisdifference is attributed to the different treatment of convection in thetwo sets of models. For the Sun, the Kurucz (1992) model appears to bepreferable to the OSMARCS ones because it better predicts the solar limbdarkening; furthermore, we find that our photometric T_eff_ 's formetal-poor stars agree well with both direct estimates based on theIRFM, and with T_eff_'s derived from Hα wings when using Kuruczmodels.

Vitesses radiales. Catalogue WEB: Wilson Evans Batten. Subtittle: Radial velocities: The Wilson-Evans-Batten catalogue.We give a common version of the two catalogues of Mean Radial Velocitiesby Wilson (1963) and Evans (1978) to which we have added the catalogueof spectroscopic binary systems (Batten et al. 1989). For each star,when possible, we give: 1) an acronym to enter SIMBAD (Set ofIdentifications Measurements and Bibliography for Astronomical Data) ofthe CDS (Centre de Donnees Astronomiques de Strasbourg). 2) the numberHIC of the HIPPARCOS catalogue (Turon 1992). 3) the CCDM number(Catalogue des Composantes des etoiles Doubles et Multiples) byDommanget & Nys (1994). For the cluster stars, a precise study hasbeen done, on the identificator numbers. Numerous remarks point out theproblems we have had to deal with.

Analyses of archival data for cool dwarfs. 2: A catalog of temperaturesA calibration presented in a previous paper is used in this paper toderive temperatures for FGK stars near the main sequence. Thecalibration is checked against published counterparts, and it is foundthat previous calibrations have not established K-dwarf temperatures inparticular beyond reasonable doubt. The database assembled to derive thetemperatures is described, and the problems posed by close binaries areevaluated. The newly derived temperatures are used to check a line-depthratio proposed as a thermometer by Gray and Johanson (1991, PASP, 103,439), and it is found that the ratio is metallicity-sensitive.Temperatures are given for a total of 417 stars.

Metal enrichment in elliptical galaxies and globular clusters through the study of iron and H-Beta spectral indicesChemical evolution of elliptical galaxies and globular clusters isaddressed through a combined study of the iron indices at 5270 and 5335A, and of the H-Beta line strength. The observational database of 74standard stars (both dwarfs and giants) referred to in a previous paper(Buzzoni et al. (1992)) complemented with the data of Faber et al.(1985) and Gorgas et al. (1993) allowed us to explore here Fe and H-Betaindex dependence on stellar temperature, gravity, and metallicity. Thederived fitting functions were then included into Buzzoni's (1989) codefor population synthesis in order to derive expected integrated indicesfor simple stellar populations and compare with observations. Partitionof metals in the current chemical mix of galaxies and globulars has beenconstrained supporting the claim that light alpha elements might beenhanced in the globular cluster metal-poor population. An alternativeconclusion resting on the standard framework with (alpha/Fe) = 0 wouldrequire a systematically larger age, about 18-20 Gyr. Iron and magnesiumin ellipticals are found in average solar but a systematic trend of(Mg/Fe) vs global metallicity does exist with iron more deficient withrespect to magnesium at high Z. We conclude that this effect mightindicate that Fe abundance per unit mass in the galaxies is constant(suggesting a constant rate per unit mass of SN I events) while lightmetals supplied by SNe II should have been more effectively enrichedwith increasing galactic total mass.

Stroemgren photometry of F- and G-type stars brighter than V = 9.6. I. UVBY photometryWithin the framework of a large photometric observing program, designedto investigate the Galaxy's structure and evolution, Hβ photometryis being made for about 9000 stars. As a by-product, supplementary uvbyphotometry has been made. The results are presented in a cataloguecontaining 6924 uvby observations of 6190 stars, all south ofδ=+38deg. The overall internal rms errors of one observation(transformed to the standard system) of a program star in the interval6.5

A search for substellar companions to southern solar-type starsAt the Mount John University Observatory relative radial velocities ofsolar-type stars have been obtained with a characteristic random errorof 55 m/s using a fiber-fed echelle system and digital cross-correlationtechniques. A program of obtaining radial velocities of 29 solar-typestars and 10 giant IAU radial-velocity standard stars was carried outover 2.5 years with a view to the detection of low-mass companions tothe dwarf stars. One dwarf star turned out to have a previouslyundiscovered stellar companion but no dwarfs showed radial-velocityvariability suggestive of the presence of substellar companions,although one showed a possible variation. In contrast, at least half thegiant or supergiant 'standard' stars were variable in radial velocity.Four and possibly five of the giant standards are probably intrinsic(pulsating) red or yellow variables. Two further standards showedlong-period variability suggestive of companions of undetermined mass.The lack of brown dwarfs observed in this program is consistent with theresults of other recent surveys.